#Before the coffee gets cold

[corpsebibliophile]

"Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, but sometimes it's incomparable in other ways. Sometimes it's heaven that the false fire of imagination could never capture."

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

[reverie-quotes]

The kindness in his smile seemed infinite.

— Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Before the Coffee Gets Cold

[nanthegirl]

24.03.2024

• For me, lack of posting usually signifies the lack of a steady routine and productivity in general. My motivation and any desire to pass my exam completely disappeared two days before it😭. Definitely paying for that. But I believe there’s still hope for the one on the 25th.

• I started Before the Coffee Gets Cold cause I saw a bunch of posts about it and it’s been on the TBR for a while. I ended up sobbing violently on the bus. I’m a fan.

• Whenever I think I’m doing good with studying consistently, I always crash at the worst time. Flipping through my journal and seeing the same things over and over again is getting old, so I decided to set some concrete goals with my 20th birthday as my deadline. I’ll see how that works out.

Have a lovely weekend☆

[learnelle]

Day twenty three - What do you do when you need comfort? Peak comfort for me is having a cozy space to destress in before bed. Given that I study and work from home, it can be quite hard sometimes to unwind in the same space. This is why my bedroom is a no-work zone and is where I thrive in comfort lol

[dijaad]

moments moments moments

..

and..

moments!

[silvertomes]

"If you could go back, who would you want to meet?"

[222hanna]

books i want to read this autumn 𔓘

[maddiesbookshelves]

London book haul ✨

I had a list of books I wanted to buy and only 3 of those were on it, haha. It was Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Jasmine Throne and I Wish You All the Best. I had spotted quite a few other books that sounded really good, but Where the Dark Stands Still, The Briar Book of the Dead and How to Solve Your Own Murder just stood out above the others

I've read I Wish You All the Best in the past (several times actually) and have a post about it, but I really wanted to own a physical copy because I love it so much. And I've also read The Briar Book of the Dead since I came back and loved it! I'm currently on How to Solve Your Own Murder, which is pretty intriguing so far

[fairycosmos]

before the coffee gets cold had such an interesting premise - cafe that can send ppl back in time!!! - but the execution was just not ittttt :^(

[soffftie]

decided to try an online programming course since i have no idea what to do with my life after graduating/the last book i read!! i know before the coffee gets cold gets a lot of bad reviews and i get why, but personally i still enjoy the vibes and the atmosphere of this series

[samireads]

Japanese books with cats on the cover 🐈

[godzilla-reads]

I have to catch up on my Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I still need to read “Before Your Memory Fades”, especially since I just got “Before We Say Goodbye”.

[reverie-quotes]

She wanted to do things without having to worry what others thought. She simply lived for her freedom.

— Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Before the Coffee Gets Cold

[ilyareads]

short books recs (under 200 pages)

1. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

This book follows Sentaro, who runs a dorayaki stall, and his friendship with Tokue, who makes killer sweet bean paste. It is a heart-warming and endearing story that brings you comfort. I love the friendship between Sentaro and Tokue, especially seeing how it develops. The ending feels a little rushed. I kind of wished it was longer. Kind of sad. I cried. 10/10 would read again.

2. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

The Funiculi Funicula cafe provides a time-traveling service, and the book, divided into four parts, retells different characters' experiences traveling in time. I always associate time-traveling with angst and regret, and this book has just that. I love how each part explores different relationship dynamics, so the time-traveling experience varies for each character. Very heart-warming, but very emotional as well. Cried a lot. It's a series but you don't have to read other books. But if you want more info on the cafe and the characters' backstory, then I highly recommend reading the other books.

3. Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

This book revolves around two students, who are victims of bullying. Due to their shared struggle, a friendship blossoms between them. The depiction of bullying and its impacts is raw and authentic, the story providing the perspectives of both the victims and the perpetrators. It was a rage-inducing but thought-provoking read.

4. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

This book follows Nana the cat as he embarks on a road-trip with his owner, Satoru. Now, cats are my absolute weakness. I love cats. I WOULD DIE FOR THEM. Which is why reading this book was hard and painful. The writing is witty, since it is written from the perspective of a cat. The plot itself is kind of predictable, but it doesn't make it any less painful. Tldr; Shredded my heart into pieces. Cried so hard, I couldn't breathe.

5. Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn

The story follows the main character, Yunjae, who suffers from a rare condition called Alexithymia that essentially makes him unable to feel emotions. Due to that, he couldn't understand social cues so people shun him. The development of the story centers on the people Yunjae are going to meet, and how his relationship with these people develops. The ending felt a little anticlimactic, but I loved it nonetheless.

6. Eartheater by Dolores Reyes

The unnamed protagonist can locate missing people and find out their fate by eating dirt, so people seek her to know the fate of their missing loved ones. It was definitely an interesting read, with elements of magical realism in relation to the protagonist's ability. It is also an intriguing depiction of femicide, a reflection of a system that continuously fails women. I felt rage for the women failed by the system and the sufferings they had to endure at the hands of hateful men.

7. A House is a Body by Shruti Swamy

This book is a collection of short stories, which is a raw and authentic depiction of what it is like being human. I enjoyed certain stories, while some left me utterly confused. The narratives are enticing and poetic, so despite some stories not hitting that hard, I enjoyed the writing.

8. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

After having a bizarre dream, Yeong-Hye declares that she is turning vegetarian, and this sudden change concerned her family. I made the mistake of thinking that this book is merely a depiction of what it's like to be a vegetarian. HELL NO. It utterly deviates from my expectation. I could only describe the book as bizarre and spooky, in an unconventional way. It depicts the complexity of the human mind when the contraint of societal expectations is disregarded.

[robyn-weightman]

This collection is now four books long, do we think there will be a fifth?

[innervoiceartblog]

Don't leave anything for later. Later, the coffee gets cold. Later, you lose interest. Later, the day turns into night. Later, people grow up. Later, people grow old. Later, life goes by. Later, you regret not doing something… When you had the chance. Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again. Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words. So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled.

- Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Before the Coffee Gets Cold (2015)

Artwork: Frank C. Pape